


The Bone Zone

by Haurvatat



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: M/M, PWP, Smut, archaeolosers, cinnamon rolls too pure, literally written for the initial joke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 06:54:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5154443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haurvatat/pseuds/Haurvatat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, as it turns out, the Bone Zone has nothing to do with paleoarchaeology or forensic anthropology.  For Sorey and Mikleo, this is simultaneously disappointing and intriguing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Bone Zone

“Okay, I see your point, but you are very much wrong,” Mikleo said.

“Fight me,” Sorey said.

“Why is that the automatic response?”

“Because reasons. But seriously, how am I wrong? The paintings in the mausoleum clearly show excessive use of the pigment Prussian Blue. That pigment wasn’t widely in use until later in the era of the Monmouth Dynasty. There’s no way in hell those tombs were from the founding nobility of Rolance,” Sorey said.

“And I’m telling _you_ , you insufferable nerd, that pigment was only used in later restorations of the same art. The original pigment underneath would have been the older version – the one made from crushed lapis lazuli. When the pigments faded, such a key historical relief would obviously have been restored, but this time with the much cheaper and easier-to-produce Prussian Blue. It could easily have been restored during the Monmouth Dynasty.”

Sorey shook his head. “No way. If they were so keen on restoring it, they would have kept to the original pigment. They wouldn’t have opted for a crappy, cheaper version. This is the key moment in their history! They aren’t just going to slap some paint on it and call it good as new!”

“I swear to God, Sorey-“

Edna heaved a sigh by the table. They’d been arguing – ‘debating’, if you brought it up with them – over this ridiculous nonsense for ages. Or maybe it just felt that way because she just plain didn’t give a shit. Dead humans were dead humans. Who cared what paints they used to decorate the ugly patch of rock where they decided to rot for eternity? Gross.

At a certain point, it had occurred to Edna that those two idiots only had these… ‘debates’… when they were feeling off somehow. It helped them calm down and get a real grip on themselves to talk about a subject both knew better than anything else. Fucking academics. And of course, they could only turn to each other for this kind of emotional support. Why they felt the need to do it at a table in the lobby of a very public inn was another thing entirely.

“For fuck’s sake, just get a room,” she muttered under her breath.

They both stopped their arguments and stared at her. Oh, great.

“Sorry, what?” Mikleo asked, ready to start shit.

“Ugh, you heard me, Meebo. Just take him to the Bone Zone already. Sounds like you both need it.”

Lailah choked on air. “Edna!”

The two of them were silent for a while, staring at Edna with something a lot like confusion on their faces.

“The ‘Bone’…”

“’Zone’?”

They glanced at each other, excitement suddenly blooming on their faces.

“That’s it! Paleoarchaeology and forensic anthropology! Edna, I had no idea you were into this kind of thing!”

“If we can just reliably date the bones and examine them for period-specific paraphernalia or markings, we should be able to settle it!”

“And you’re saying there’s a place where we can just go and confirm everything? That’s amazing! Edna, you’ve got to tell us more about this Bone Zone!”

“I’ve never even heard of it.”

“I know – you’d think we’d have gotten wind of something this awesome by now, right?”

“That was our mistake. We should have asked around. Just didn’t think of it.”

Lailah was holding back laughter as best she could, and Zavied was this close to shitting himself. Neither one of them could get the breath up to tell Edna to stop, so she may as well.

These boys were far too pure. If they wanted to know more about the Bone Zone, by God, she’d tell them.

\--- 

It was dark out. Rose was in her room, and Sorey had adjourned to his, red-faced and shocked beyond words. He… he honestly hadn’t expected… _that_. Nor had he expected to hear about from Edna, of all people. She, who looked most like a child among them, had uttered such filthy things Sorey was confused how he hadn’t combusted right in the middle of the inn lobby. His cheeks burned. When he’d stolen a few glances over at Mikleo (only a few – the embarrassment was too much to handle any more), his best friend had been a shade of red best characterized as vermillion, the artificial pigment used in the mid to late 8th century.

But now Sorey knew things. He could not unlearn these things.

And he couldn’t stop thinking about them, either.

It wasn’t like Sorey had ever wanted the Sex Talk. Who would have given it – Gramps? No way. Most seraphim sprang forth, fully formed. They didn’t have parents or any relation to procreation at all unless they began life as something else. Gramps might not have even had a concept of sex. God only knew how Edna had found out.

It just seemed so… messy. The way she’d described it, it also sounded vaguely unsanitary. He’d known some things already – he was a 17-year-old boy after all, and no amount of purity of heart would erase a burgeoning sex drive from hormonal imbalances. It was just that he’d had no idea what it was for until just now. Or that it was genuinely possible to do anything about it with another person.

His heart was hammering in his dumb chest. Why? Why act like this knowledge had changed anything? For that matter… Lailah, Edna, and Zavied had elected to stay down in the lobby for the time being. They’d probably lodge themselves back in his soul once they were done racking up an impressive tab at the bar. But Mikleo had come with Sorey. He could feel him inside, a tiny pulsing warmth that ran through his veins.

If seraphim didn’t generally have much interest or use for sex, why was Mikleo so affected? He’d all but fled into Sorey the minute the opportunity had presented itself. He’d never seen Mikleo so freaked out before.

Unless.

Fuck.

“…Mik’?” he called tentatively.

He waited a few painfully long moments before Mikleo materialized, sitting on the bed in front of him and very pointedly not looking him in the face. “What do you need?”

Sorey couldn’t really make eye contact either. “I… well, I mean… you don’t think…”

“Just spit it out.”

“…Do you want to?”

Mikleo froze. “To what?” he asked after a while. His voice was forcibly smooth.

“Ugh. You know what. The things Edna was talking about.”

“Not at all. Sounds really gross if you ask me. More human bullshit for me to avoid with every fiber of my being.”

“Mikleo.”

“…Maybe.”

“I’m pretty curious, too. She said it feels good but how will we really know? I mean, Edna’s a woman, so maybe it’s completely different for men. And what if it works different for seraphim and for humans?” Sorey said.

Mikleo’s jaw worked as he considered it. “Seems a waste not to…”

“Experiment?”

Sorey raised one eyebrow, hoping to get a reaction out of his best friend. He did, but it wasn’t the one he expected. “Sorey, are you sure?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked, confused.

“As flippant as Edna and Zavied are about this kind of thing, it’s different for you. It means something. There really has to be that trust there. To just let someone…” he swallowed and his voice lowered with a quiver, “be inside you like that.”

Sorey reached out a hand and took Mikleo’s. “There is no one on the planet I could ever trust more than you. We’ve been together through everything we’ve ever encountered our whole lives, literally. Do you really think there’s anyone I could prefer? It _does_ mean something to me, and that’s exactly _why_ it has to be you.”

Mikleo’s pulse thudded in his throat, cutting off his air. Sorey’s hand was so warm around his. He wanted this. They both did. God only knew how long it had been in the works, but now that they understood what had been happening all that time, here they were.

Mikleo internally said ‘fuck it’ and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Sorey’s lips.

God, but he was so soft. His lips were almost a little chapped, testament to the coming of autumn and the harsh winds that accompanied it, but it was in the way that he moved. The way Sorey’s body curved around to meet Mikleo’s, and the way he tilted his head with a sigh and wrapped one arm around his waist and pulled the other up to gently cup the back of Mikleo’s neck. It sent the good kind of shivers down the seraph’s spine, but also spurred some bizarre primal instinct to claim, to own. Sorey was precious and beautiful and to be protected no matter the cost, but parts of Mikleo wanted to mark and bruise the boy to make sure he knew exactly who he belonged to.

He ignored the urges as best he could, wrapping his arms around Sorey’s neck and pulling away before diving back in again. Whatever space there had been between them was long gone, both of their abdomens pressed together seamlessly. Much as Mikleo couldn’t stand being shorter, it did mean that he fit perfectly in Sorey’s lap.

They stayed like that for a while, learning pieces of what it meant to be together in a whole different way. Memorizing what sounds the other made when fingers trailed across specific patches of skin. Gently worshipping the other in a way that didn’t feel anything like the crude things Edna had mentioned.

All the same, Mikleo felt like things needed to move along at some point. Of course Sorey wasn’t going to make the first move. He was the Shepherd, after all. Far too pure and good to think about going further without explicit permission. Mikleo figured he would have to take the reins no matter how this ended up. He rolled their hips together, curving one arm around to snake a hand down the back of Sorey’s pants. Sorey made something of a cross between a groan and a squeak, arching back into the touch.

“Mikleo-“ he breathed, flushed.

“We’re never going to get anything done with this many articles of clothing on,” he said. “Just being pragmatic here.”

Sorey blinked. Then grinned. “Bet you a thousand gald I can get undressed faster than you can.”

“You are so on, you little-“

Both catapulted themselves apart, clothing flying into pretty much every available corner.

“I win,” Sorey sang from the bed, gloriously naked.

“Son of a bitch. You’re wearing, like, three times as many layers as I am! How-?” Mikleo continued cursing as he yanked at his shirt.

“And none of those layers included a bodice. Hang on, let me get it,” Sorey said. Strong arms wrapped around Mikleo from the back and set about undoing the truly ridiculous number of straps that held the contraption in place. There was that shiver again. Sorey pressed barely-there kisses to the back of Mikleo’s neck as he pulled the last garment away, draping it over a nightstand with considerably more care than he’d taken with any of his own clothing.

“Sorey-“

“I need you. Please.”

Mikleo’s breath caught. “You mean, like…”

“Yeah.”

“But… I have no idea what I’m doing. I could hurt you.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing, either. And we both know you’d never hurt me. Come on. You’ve been inside me loads of times.”

Mikleo swallowed. “Not like this.”

“But I want it to be like this, too. If I trust you inside of my soul, I trust you inside of my body. Please,” he said again.

He just couldn’t resist when words like ‘please’ got whipped out.

“Lie back,” he said quietly. Sorey obeyed without a word, spreading himself out on top of the sheets, legs pulling up slightly from whatever residual embarrassment he had left.

Mikleo couldn’t help but stare. He knew Sorey was beautiful. They’d bathed together countless times, even now that they were older. But he’d never seen the boy like this. Lean muscle over a solid frame, smooth skin for miles. The red across his face, neck, and chest that proved he was just as affected by all this as Mikleo. The way he breathed with his whole body. Mikleo’s eyes drifted down. Of course. Even his flushed cock was perfect. The muscles in Sorey’s thighs twitched when he realized exactly where his lover was looking.

“No, don’t,” Mikleo said, unsure exactly what he was telling Sorey not to do. “Let me.” He crawled onto the bed himself, kneeling between Sorey’s legs like a man in prayer. He pressed a kiss to that beautiful curve of a hip, running his hands up the other’s thighs.

“Mikleo…”

“I’ve got it. Don’t rush me. If you still want me to do this, we’ll be doing it at my pace.” He looked up, eyes as serious as they’d ever been. “But if you want me to stop, wait for nothing. I need you to tell me. If you need something, I need you to tell me.”

Sorey nodded. “I understand.”

“I mean it. Don’t you dare let me hurt you.”

A tanned hand came down to grip Mikleo’s own. “I won’t. I promise.” And that was enough.

With slender fingers, Mikleo gave Sorey’s dick a first, tentative stroke. The muted gasp was encouraging. “Be quiet, remember. Other humans can’t hear me, but they can hear you just fine.”

“Right, right. Just… please, don’t stop.”

Mikleo obeyed, feeling a little more confident. One hand wrapped around Sorey and got busy memorizing what really made the boy squirm. The other hand, Mikleo held in reserve. He knew he had a spell of some sort that would work. He murmured what he really hoped was the right incantation to himself.

“What… What are you-?” Sorey managed to gasp out.

“Edna said we need lubrication, right?” Sorey took half a second to catch on, then moaned and went a little limp. “I take it you’re just fine with that idea?”

“Please,” he whispered.

“Anything for you,” Mikleo said, pressing a kiss to the inside of Sorey’s thigh. A thick coating of magicked water wrapped itself around his fingers. Gently, he began to massage the opening between Sorey’s legs, putting only the barest of pressure on it. Small whimpers came from the head of the bed along with tiny pleas for something unnamed.

Taking a deep breath (no going back), Mikleo pressed in. Sorey’s whole body stiffened, and for an instant Mikleo thought he’d hurt his Shepherd.

“Are you-?”

“Please. I’m okay, I’m okay. I… I just…” Sorey’s brain had given out on him.

“I know. I’ve got it.” Mikleo began moving his finger in and out, ever-so-slightly, to get Sorey used to the sensation. He was making incoherent mumbling noises and pressing his face into the pillow.

He was so warm inside. Mikleo had always known that, in a way, but he had been right – there were leagues of difference between being inside someone’s soul and being inside of them like this. But all of Sorey was warm and bright and beautiful, so no part of Mikleo was surprised that this somehow was, too. He added a second finger once it was loose enough to allow passage, and drank in the sight of Sorey’s back arching a little, gently pushing himself down onto the slender fingers at work inside him.

Just for that, Mikleo was going to tease the hell out of him.

For what felt like ages, Mikleo played Sorey’s body like an instrument. He made the most beautiful sounds when fingers brushed over his prostate, or when nails scraped over just the right place on his cock. He went absolutely insane when hot mouths sealed themselves over his nipples, the suction making him melt into a helpless puddle. It wasn’t long before the only words Sorey could remember were “Mikleo” and “please”.

“Oh, all right. Fine. Just this once, for you,” Mikleo said, kissing the desperate mess of a human beneath him on the lips. “Can you prove to me you want it?”

Sorey let out a keening wail as quietly as he could, clearly impatient and incoherent.

“Sorry, sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

“Asshole.” Ah. So he remembered that word, at least.

Mikleo muttered the same lubrication spell, but this time, spread it over himself. He had to stop himself from shuddering. It was the first time he’d touched himself… well, ever, really. This was probably going to be over embarrassingly quickly. But hey – neither of them had a point of reference to go by, anyway.

“Shhh, shh, shh,” he whispered. “I’ve got you. I’m going to take care of you. You’re mine, after all.” He lined up, and pressed forward as slowly as he could bear.

Sorey’s thighs twitched and his back arched, and his mouth let out a plaintive mewl as he spread his legs wider and bared his throat. It took every ounce of self-discipline Mikleo had not to slam in at the sight of it. Fucking beautiful.

An eternity later, Mikleo was firmly seated inside. God, it was so tight and hot. The blood was pounding so fiercely in his veins, he half-worried he was going to lose consciousness before ever finishing. But no. Passing out could wait. He had a Shepherd to make cry and beg before then.

He pulled out slowly, then pushed back in. Sorey made an encouraging kind of noise. He worked himself in and out, getting a feel for a rhythm that worked for both of them. Sorey met him halfway every time, pushing his hips up into Mikleo’s and gasping for air every time he hit something. So perfectly positioned for it with Sorey’s body curled into his lap, Mikleo couldn’t resist his earlier instinct to mark up that perfect skin. Lips and teeth attached themselves to Sorey’s throat and set about making him shake in pleasure.

They rocked together, Sorey’s weak voice gasping out and Mikleo’s muffled in sweat-slicked skin, until Sorey broke first. Feeling Sorey tighten around him was all it took, and Mikleo shattered, teeth clamping down unconsciously.

Mikleo felt like he barely had the strength to pull out and lay down on Sorey’s chest. Sorey himself was still breathing like he’d run a marathon, aftershocks of his orgasm still echoing through him. They were both utterly boneless and exhausted. Edna sure hadn’t mentioned that part.

“…Hey, Mikleo?”

“Hn?”

“You know I love you, right? And you love me?”

“…You don’t even have to ask. Always and forever, you awful little abomination.”

**Author's Note:**

> what the fuck guys
> 
> seriously what the hell

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Please don't let Sorey teach](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5196479) by [Tales_Of_Chrom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tales_Of_Chrom/pseuds/Tales_Of_Chrom)




End file.
